Sporting News examines the biggest college hoops games of a weekend packed with great matchups (all times ET):

NO. 5 MIAMI AT NO. 3 DUKE

The tip: Today, 6 p.m. (ESPN).

Warm-up drill: Storylines abound for this game. Miami can accomplish the improbable and clinch the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament with a win at legendary Cameron Indoor Stadium—the ACC doesn’t recognize a regular-season champion but only gives the “ACC champion” title to the tournament winner. Duke is coming off a loss at Virginia on Thursday, but the biggest question for the Blue Devils involves Ryan Kelly. He suited up and warmed up with his teammates but didn’t play Thursday, which was the plan. Will he play against Miami? According to reporters on the scene, Kelly didn’t limp in pregame activities and seemed to move without restriction. And, then, there’s that other storyline—what happened the first time these two teams met. Duke was ranked No. 1 when it traveled to Miami for the Jan. 23 contest and left Coral Gables with a 27-point loss that was even more lopsided than the final score indicated.

Inside stat: 4. In Duke’s two most recent losses—at Maryland and at Virginia—big man Mason Plumlee not only has been held in check, he’s been almost completely stifled. He’s made just four field goals – combined—in those two games; he was 2-for-7 from the field against the Terps and 2-for-5 against the Cavaliers. Plumlee, who’s averaging 17.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and has 16 double-doubles on the season, had a total of 10 combined rebounds in those two losses. Expect Miami’s big men—Julian Gamble, Reggie Johnson and Kenny Kadji—to be aggressive against Plumlee on both ends.

WICHITA STATE AT CREIGHTON

The tip: Today, 2 p.m. (ESPN2).

Warm-up drill: On the surface, this regular-season finale means exactly what most people expected a few months ago—the winner claims the regular-season title and gets the No. 1 seed in the Missouri Valley Tournament next week. The unexpected part, though, is that the loser is on shaky ground regarding the NCAA Tournament. Both teams have solid non-conference wins—Wichita State beat VCU and Creighton beat Wisconsin and Cal—but both have five Valley losses, including multiple losses to teams with RPIs of 100 or higher. If the loser of this game trips up early in the MVC Tournament, that team could miss out on an NCAA at-large bid.

Inside stat: 17.4. The Shockers won the Jan. 19 game between these teams, 67-64, despite shooting just 17.4 percent (4-for-23) from beyond the 3-point arc and 47.4 percent (9-for-19) from the free-throw line. Wichita State grabbed 22 offensive rebounds in the game, though, which helped knock off the Bluejays, who were ranked No. 12 at the time.

NO. 10 LOUISVILLE AT NO. 12 SYRACUSE

The tip: Today, noon (CBS).

Warm-up drill: The winner still has an outside shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament—it’s been a crazy year, remember?—and the loser could wind up on the No. 5-seed line. How’s that for pressure? Syracuse has struggled lately; the Orange are just 4-5 in their last nine games, which includes a 1-4 record away from home. Louisville, on the other hand, has won seven of eight, only dropping that memorable five-overtime game at Notre Dame. The Cardinals’ schedule hasn’t been brutal, though—five of those seven victories came against Big East teams that have no chance at earning an NCAA at-large berth. Syracuse beat Louisville on Jan. 19, completing a second-half rally to escape with a two-point victory.

Inside stat: 1. Louisville guard Russ Smith is a surprising No. 1 in the kenpom.com player of the year standings. Basically, when he plays well, the Cardinals win. When he doesn’t, they lose. In Louisville’s past 11 games—starting with the loss to Syracuse—the Cardinals are 5-0 when his offensive rating is 140 or above, and they’re 0-3 when his offensive rating is below 108.

NO. 9 MICHIGAN STATE AT NO. 4 MICHIGAN

The tip: Sunday, 4 p.m. (CBS).

Warm-up drill: Michigan State has had a week off to prepare for this game, a needed break after losing to Indiana and Ohio State. Michigan, on the other hand, is coming off a stunning loss Wednesday to a Penn State team that had been 0-14 in Big Ten play. Yep, that adds even more intrigue to the best game of the Sunday schedule. The Spartans dominated the Feb. 12 matchup between these rivals, a 23-point win that prompted coach Tom Izzo to tell reporters, “We probably played our best game in three years, and they probably played one of their worst.” Don’t expect the same result at Crisler Center; Michigan is 16-0 in Ann Arbor this season.

Inside stat: 2. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glenn Robinson III average 26.3 points per game combined but managed to score just four total points and shoot just 2-for-15 from the field against the physical Spartans the first time around. Obviously, the Wolverines need a better showing from that duo to win the rematch.

OVERTIME

Iowa at No. 1 Indiana—Today, 7:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network). This is a must-win situation for Iowa, which is barely clinging to the fringes of the bubble conversation. Must-win games that take place in Assembly Hall have a high degree of difficulty, to say the least.

Alabama at No. 8 Florida—Today, noon (ESPN). Same thing goes for Alabama. The Crimson Tide have a shiny 11-4 record in SEC games, but they lost to Missouri, split with Auburn and LSU and have yet to play Florida or Ole Miss. Alabama’s NCAA resume needs plenty of boosting, and that would start with an anchor victory at Florida.

No. 11 Arizona at UCLA—Today, 9 p.m. (ESPN). When meeting Jan. 24 in Tucson, the Bruins jumped out to an early lead and held off the Wildcats down the stretch in an 11-point victory. That was UCLA’s only victory in a bizarre-four game stretch that in many ways typified an up-and-down season. The Bruins enter this one having won five of six to move into a first-place tie (in the loss column) in the Pac-12 with Oregon; Arizona is a game back.

No. 13 Kansas State at Baylor—Today, 7 p.m. (ESPN2). There are five Big 12 teams that will likely end up in the NCAA Tournament—Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Iowa State—and Baylor is just 1-7 against those teams. Before conference play started, the Bears seemed like an NCAA lock, too, but now are desperate for quality victories. Winning at K-State isn’t easy, but it would do wonders for Baylor’s at-large hopes.

No. 19 Memphis at Central Florida—Today, 1 p.m. (Fox Sports Net). How will Memphis respond to that disappointing mid-week non-conference loss to Xavier, the one that snapped an 18-game winning streak? Central Florida is 6-1 at home in Conference USA action, and the combo of Isaiah Sykes and Keith Clanton could provide problems for the Tigers.

No. 20 Butler at VCU—Today, noon (ESPN2). This contest between Atlantic 10 newbies won’t be the earth-shattering first-place showdown most expected a few months ago—Saint Louis has claimed the top spot as its own—but it still promises to be an intense game between two teams equipped to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. It’s must-see TV.

No. 21 Notre Dame at No. 22 Marquette—Today, 2 p.m. (ESPN). On most Saturdays, this would be a marquee showdown. But the national schedule is loaded with great games this weekend, so this one might get lost in the shuffle. Don’t let that happen. Both teams are safely above the bubble, but there are plenty of seeding implications—with the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament. Marquette is 8-0 at home in conference play, by the way.

Maryland at Wake Forest—Today, noon (ACC Network, espn3.com). Wake Forest isn’t an easy place to play—the Demon Deacons have beaten Miami and N.C. State in Winston-Salem—but the Terps’ slim-to-none NCAA chances can’t survive any more losses, especially to teams with RPIs in the 150 range.

Iowa State at Oklahoma—Today, 1:30 p.m. (Big 12 Network, espn3.com). This is a sneaky-great game on a packed Saturday. The Cyclones are playing like a NCAA Tournament team, but their resume needs work to avoid a nervous Selection Sunday. The Sooners must show more fight after collapsing in the second half (they blew a 22-point lead) at Texas on Wednesday.

Tennessee at Georgia—Today, 1:45 p.m. (SEC Network, espn3.com). The Vols vaulted back into the bubble discussion with their win against Florida on Tuesday, but they can’t afford to lose today. Georgia has played much better lately, but teams that get swept but schools with RPIs in the 140 range don’t get at-large berths. The Bulldogs won in Knoxville on Feb. 6; since then, Tennessee has won six games in a row.

UConn at Cincinnati—Today, 2 p.m. (Big East Network, espn3.com). The Huskies are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament but are making life tough for Big East teams making the trip. They pushed Georgetown to double-overtime Wednesday, beat Syracuse on Feb. 13 and beat Cincinnati by seven on Feb. 21. The Bearcats are reeling at the moment; they’ve lost five of six and scored just 41 points in their most recent game, a loss at Notre Dame.

Kentucky at Arkansas—Today, 4 p.m. (CBS). Both bubble teams need a victory in the worst way.

LSU at Missouri—Today, 4 p.m. (SEC Network, espn3.com). At the Battle O’ Tigers on Jan. 30, LSU raced out to a quick lead and held on for dear life. Mizzou has played much better in Columbia, though; the Tigers are 7-0 at Mizzou Arena in SEC play and 15-0 overall at home.

Colorado at Cal—Today, 5 p.m. (ESPNU). You’ve probably noticed a trend by now. This is yet another sneaky-great game that will get lost in a day of great games. No team has done more to help its NCAA prospects during conference play than Cal, which has won eight of nine. Colorado has won eight of 10, though, which makes this quite the showdown.

Colorado State at Boise State—Today, 8 p.m. (Time Warner Cable SportsNet). The Broncos are 5-1 at home in Mountain West play and desperately need this victory to bolster their NCAA resume. It won’t be easy, though. The Rams won the Jan. 30 matchup by 20 points.

Villanova at No. 23 Pitt—Sunday, noon (ROOT). Villanova has proven it can beat quality teams at home—wins against Syracuse, Louisville and Marquette—but winning a road game against a tournament-quality team would do wonders for Selection Sunday jitters. The Wildcats are just 3-5 on the road in Big East play.

Virginia at Boston College—Sunday, 4 p.m. (ACC Network, espn3.com). Two of the other three teams to beat Duke—which the Cavaliers did Thursday—followed the upset by losing road games against inferior foes. Virginia can’t look past Boston College; the Eagles have won three of their past four home games and pushed Duke, Miami and N.C. State to the limit at home.

N.C. State at Georgia Tech—Sunday, 6 p.m. (ESPNU). Georgia Tech already owns home wins against Virginia and Maryland, and N.C. State hasn’t exactly been great on the road in ACC play. The Wolfpack are just 2-5 away from Raleigh in conference play.